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Xanthine Oxidase-Induced Vascular Dysfunction In Nano-Tio2 Inhalation, Xena Marie Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Inhalation of nano-TiO₂ is linked to adverse clinical outcomes that affect people worldwide, particularly those who work in manufacturing. For example, cardiovascular consequences and changes in microvascular responses are, in part, associated with exposure to engineered nanomaterials such as nano-TiO₂; however, the mechanism(s) driving this process is unknown. Nano-TiO₂ is an engineered nanomaterial (ENM) that is reported to, upon inhalation, impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation in several vascular beds via enhanced local oxidant generation and diminished nitric oxide bioavailability. This dissertation aims to address the health concerns generated by occupational exposure to nano-TiO₂ and identify a link …

Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) System In Health And Disease., Daniella Munezero

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cells rely on heat shock proteins (HSP) to facilitate and regulate the folding of the substrate proteins into their native state, and degradation if misfolding cannot be prevented. HSP90, a member of the HSP family, is a potential target for treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Unfortunately, several clinical trials for cancer treatment have been discontinued due to cell toxicity accompanying HSP90 inhibition. HSP90 has four distinct but structurally similar paralogs. HSP90 inhibitors target all the paralogs despite increasing proof of functional differences among the paralogs. Understanding the in vivo function of HSP90 and the role played by each paralog …

Advancing Prosthetic Design Using Neural And Mechanical Dynamics, Kacie E. Hanna

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Limb loss poses a significant challenge to mobility and the performance of daily activities. Currently, nearly half of the amputees using powered prosthetics abandon their device due to inadequate limb coordination and movement control abilities. In the healthy system, passive and neural dynamics facilitate the synchronized activation of muscles necessary for coordinated movement. However, in the amputee, the system is disrupted. The goal of this research is to use neural and mechanical dynamics to inform the design of prosthetic devices in order to restore intuitive control and coordinated limb movement.

The first aim of this research is to investigate neural …

Cluster Homolog Of Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Genes In Chicken Immune Responses, Brandi A. Sparling

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores the identity and role of immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) receptors in chickens, with focus on their implications in disease and disease progression. These receptors, wisely expressed across immune cells, interact with the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules to modulate immune responses in mammals. Due to the insufficient representation of chicken Ig-like receptors in online databases, this study systematically annotates the chicken Cluster Homolog of Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (CHIR) genes using advanced bioinformatic techniques, aligning with the release of the 7th edition of the chicken genome assembly that comprises builds for a broiler and layer chicken. The analysis identifies …

Spatial Analysis Of Bike-Sharing Station Usage And Placement: Redefining Bike-Share Planning For Equity, Sydney E. French

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Historically, bike share system (BSS) station locations have been guided by potential economic and environmental benefits associated with increased bike share usage per station. For example, a typical location identification approach may attempt to maximize demand per station based on population size or activity and area characteristics. Such identification methods often result in an unequal representation of specific population groups among the systems’ users, thus hindering the potential sustainability-related benefits. To address these disparities, some bike share organizations have started developing and implementing equity-oriented programs focusing on expanding their reach to underserved communities. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of such programs has …

Comparing Activity-Based Market Segments On The George Washington And Jefferson National Forests Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Eric Eugene Snyder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Understanding market segments in forest-based tourism and their dynamics is integral for the tourism industry's ability to adapt and thrive in the ever-evolving market. The purpose of this research is to determine how recreation participation changed over a five-year period in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests before and during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Data were collected via the National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) surveys in fiscal years 2016 and 2021. NVUM surveys are on-site exit interview surveys that produce descriptive information about forest visitors. NVUM utilizes a stratified random sampling methodology that captures data across different use levels, …

Integrated Immunity-Based Methodology For Uav Monitoring And Control, Ryan G. Mclaughlin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A general integrated and comprehensive health management framework based on the artificial immune system (AIS) paradigm is formulated and an automated system is developed and tested through simulation for the detection, identification, evaluation, and accommodation (DIEA) of abnormal conditions (ACs) on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The proposed methodology involves the establishment of a body of data to represent the function of the vehicle under nominal conditions, called the self, and differentiating this operation from that of the vehicle under an abnormal condition, referred to as the non-self. Data collected from simulations of the selected UAV autonomously flying a set …

Composers At War: A Study Of Composers Who Fought In World War I And World War Ii, Jason T. Hoffmann

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research document explores the connections between the war experiences of four composers and whether the possibility existed that any of the composers had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moral injury, mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Scholars have not thoroughly examined the music of composers written before, during, and after war experiences and any potential changes to musical styles or compositional techniques. In my research I look at the effects that war can have on composers through autobiographical and biographical accounts of Ivor Gurney (WWI), Olivier Messiaen (WWII), Maurice Ravel (WWI), and …

Exploiting The Advantages And Overcoming The Challenges Of The Cable In A Tethered Drone System, Rogerio Rodrigues Lima

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation proposes solutions for motion planning, localization, and landing of tethered drones using only tether variables. A tether-based multi-model localization framework for tethered drones is proposed. This framework comprises three independent localization strategies based on a different model. The first strategy uses simple trigonometric relations assuming that the tether is taut; the second method relies on a set of catenary equations for the slack tether case; the third estimator is a neural network-based predictor that can cover different tether shapes. Multi-layer perceptron networks previously trained with a dataset comprised of the tether variables (i.e., length, tether angles on the …

Exploring The Conceptualizations And Utilizations Of Learning Theories In Sport Settings, Kevin R. Lou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to identify how integrating learning theories into the design of a formal university course helps facilitate students’ resources, goals, and orientations (Schoenfeld, 2011) of learning theories for their future career work in coaching, sport psychology consulting, or other sport-related professions. Sixteen students signed up for a fifteen-week fall semester course at a Mid-Atlantic university in America and were asked to annotate, create, and reflect upon examples of future work in their desired fields for their three major written assignments in the course. Students reflected on their learning experience through pre-and-post semi-structured interviews and most …

Parent And Adolescent Report Of Helicopter Parenting: Examining Reporter Discrepancies And Associations With Adolescent Depression And Anxiety, Avneet Batra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research is replete with studies on Helicopter Parenting (HP) and its association with depression and anxiety (Cui et al., 2019; Schiffrin et al., 2014; 2019). However, most of the studies have focused on college students’ reports on helicopter parenting and there is relative dearth of studies with adolescents or with parents’ reports of HP (Pistella et al., 2020; Schiffrin et al., 2019). The current study aims to fill the gap in the literature by including both parent and adolescents’ perspectives on helicopter parenting, assess its unique association (parent and teens HP reports) with teen depression and anxiety both concurrently and …

Investigating The Interactions Of The Iron-Sulfur Mitochondrial Protein, Mitoneet With Its Binding Partners, Ebenezer Osei Newton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

MitoNEET belongs to the CDGSH Iron-Sulfur Domain (CISD)-gene family of proteins and is a [2Fe-2S] cluster-containing protein found on the outer membrane of mitochondria. The specific functions of mitoNEET/CISD1 remain to be fully elucidated, but the protein is involved in regulating mitochondrial bioenergetics in several metabolic diseases. Unfortunately, drug discovery efforts targeting mitoNEET to improve metabolic disorders are hampered by the lack of ligand-binding assays for this mitochondrial protein. We have developed a protocol amenable for high-throughput screening (HTS) assay, by modifying an ATP fluorescence polarization method to facilitate drug discovery targeting mitoNEET. Based on our observation that adenosine triphosphate …

Impacts Of Error Rate And Therapist Appearance On The Accuracy Of Fidelity Data Collection, Marisela A. Aguilar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Procedural fidelity is the extent to which a procedure is implemented as designed. Analyzing procedural-fidelity data can improve treatment outcomes. Fidelity data are generally collected by a supervisor or trained data collector using a checklist that operationalizes each component of the procedure and accounts for errors in implementation of the components. However, little is known about variables that may affect the accuracy of supervisor-collected data generally, and even less is known about variables that may affect the accuracy of procedural-fidelity data. Therefore, the current studies explored the extent to which Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) accurately detected programmed fidelity errors …

Relationships Among Pregnancy, Substance Use, Social Determinants Of Health And Assessment, Referral, And Utilization Of Treatment: A Secondary Analysis Of Nsduh Data, Heather Lynn Coddington

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Relationships Among Pregnancy, Substance Use, Social Determinants of Health and Assessment, Referral, and Utilization of Treatment: A Secondary Analysis of NSDUH Data

Heather Coddington

Background: Assessment and referral for substance use disorder during pregnancy is crucial to improving outcomes for mothers and newborns during the antepartum and postpartum period. Healthcare professionals are essential during the entirety of the pregnancy during each trimester to provide effective communication when assessing for substance use early and throughout each trimester of pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between assessment, referral, and utilization of treatment …

Evaluation Of A Novel Mrna-Pertussis Vaccine Against Emerging Clinical Isolates Of Bordetella Pertussis, Graham Jeffrey Bitzer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative obligate aerobe that causes a respiratory disease known as pertussis or whooping cough. Pertussis is most severe in younger children, especially infants but the bacteria has been known to colonize adult populations. Before the introduction of the whole-cell pertussis (wP; wP-DTP) vaccine reported numbers of pertussis cases within the US routinely topped 100,000 cases per year. However, with the widespread usage of the wP vaccine case numbers began dropping and reached a low of less than 5,000 cases per year in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. It appeared that B. pertussis was heading towards …

Predictions Of Produced Water Quality And Recycled Water Optimization For Spatially-Distributed Wells In Point Pleasant Formation, Armel Quentin Mbakop

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The treatment of produced water as a fracturing fluid is becoming an increasingly important aspect of water management surrounding the booming of the unconventional oil and gas industry. Two main problems facing the oil and gas industry are the availability of water for well drilling and completion and disposal of the produced water. Unconventional well drilling and completion in the Utica shale requires large amounts of water. The wastewater that results after production—containing high levels of organic and inorganic matter— is usually disposed of through deep well injection. A new approach reuses this produced water as part of subsequent fracturing …

A Preoperative Intervention To Improve Glycemic Control In Surgical Patients With Diabetes, Kelsey L. Boyd

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Perioperative hyperglycemia is reported in 20-40% of patients undergoing general surgery and is an independent risk factor for negative surgical outcomes. Patients with diabetes presenting to a local community hospital are at risk for negative surgical outcomes due to the lack of strategies to prevent perioperative hyperglycemia. This project aimed to implement and evaluate the usefulness of succinct diabetes education for preoperative total joint surgical patients with diabetes. The intervention was a nurse-led, face-to-face diabetes education session provided to total joint surgical patients with diabetes during a preoperative evaluation appointment, compared to usual care (no preoperative diabetes education). This project …

Red Spruce Ecological Sites, Ecological States, And Restoration Pathways Quantified Through Soil Organic Carbon, James Edward Leonard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Tools used by agencies and organizations like the Forest Service (FS), the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (CASRI) to help guide red spruce (Picea rubens) ecosystem restoration within Central Appalachia could better address outcomes from management practices implemented in terms of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes. These high-elevation landscapes have a natural capacity to produce diverse ecosystem services that affect humans, animals, and plants alike. Ecological site descriptions (ESD) are an important tool used to restore impacted landscapes and provide detailed management prescriptions specific to red spruce ecological …

Sacramental Ethnicity: Women’S Culture And Vernacular Religion In Twentieth-Century America, Aaron J. Rovan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project examines the reciprocal and evolving relationship between American women’s culture, vernacular religion, and the social development of American ethnicity. This project focuses on the roles of white ethnic women, both literary and real, in the construction, maintenance, and transmission of ethnic identity. The project highlights the connections between the folkloric performances of vernacular religion and the discursive articulation of ethnicity by focusing on two women writers and two groups of Slovak American women. The fiction of Kate Chopin and Anzia Yezierska illustrates how literary authors bring their contemporary concepts of folklore into their writing. The writings of these …

Examining The Spatial Relationship Between Maternal Morbidity, Access To Health Care, And Community Characteristics In West Virginia, Sarah E. Woolard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Maternal-related morbidity rates in the United States have risen almost three fold since the early 1990’s. Issues related to rurality, socioeconomic disparities, and pre-existing health conditions increase the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and introduce barriers to accessing advanced maternal health care. West Virginia (WV) has higher maternal morbidity rates than many other states in the United States (US), and is considered to be driven by all 55 counties being classified as Appalachian, possessing the highest prenatal smoking rate in the US, and having disparities in access to health care. Despite this, no previous studies have evaluated maternal morbidity in …

Synthesizing Realistic Substitute Data For A Law Enforcement Database Using A Python Library, Anthony Carrola

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In many databases, there is private or sensitive data that should not be accessible to any but a few individuals, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protected or LE (law enforcement) data. However, there is often a need to work with the data or change it for proper and thorough testing, especially for the developers . In some cases, the developers may be authorized to access and view the data, but it is rarely allowable for that data to be changed. Further, it is unlikely, especially on a large project, that all of the developers will have …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence For Co2 Storage In Saline Aquifer (Smart Proxy For Snap-Shot In Time), Marwan Mohammed Alnuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology have grown in popularity. Smart Proxy Models (SPM) are AI/ML based data-driven models which have proven to be quite crucial in petroleum engineering domain with abundant data, or operations in which large surface/ subsurface volume of data is generated. Climate change mitigation is one application of such technology to simulate and monitor CO2 injection into underground formations.

The goal of the SPM developed in this study is to replicate the results (in terms of pressure and saturation outputs) of the numerical reservoir simulation model (CMG) for CO2 injection into …

An Exploration Of The Effects Of Mindfulness On Pain: The Role Of Pain Catastrophizing, Ilana Haliwa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Chronic pain is a complex global public health concern associated with a host of negative outcomes, including loss of productivity, decreased quality of life, and greater likelihood of developing a mental health disorder. Initial evidence indicates that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) improve pain symptomatology. However, most MBIs are time and resource intensive, and it is unclear how mindfulness may improve the pain experience. The purpose of the present set of studies was to test the effects of a brief, app-based MBI on pain experience, and to examine whether pain catastrophizing was a statistical mediator of any effect. Two studies were conducted …

Combinatorial Approaches For Effective Design, Synthesis, And Optimization Of Enzyme-Based Conjugates, Jordan Scott Chapman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The specificity and efficiency with which enzymes catalyze selective chemical reactions far exceeds the performance of traditional heterogeneous catalysts that are predominant in industrial applications such as conversion of commodity chemicals to value-added products, fuel cells, and petroleum refinement. Moreover, biocatalysts exhibit exceptionally high product turnover at ambient conditions with little health and environmental burden. These advantageous qualities have led to the prolific use of enzyme catalysis in pharmaceutical, detergents, and food preservation industries wherein their use has greatly reduced waste generation, Unfortunately, the full slate of benefits that enzymes can impart to a broader range of chemical processes is …

Study Of Resonantly Stabilized Radicals In Combustion Environments, James H. Lee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Resonantly stabilized radicals (RSRs) play an important role in combustion environments due to their high stability resulting from resonance. Many RSRs such as the propargyl, allyl, or benzyl radicals are precursors to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can aggregate to form soot. Due to their stability, these RSRs can accumulate in combustion environments in significant quantities. The primary way these radical species are consumed in flames or by reactions with other abundant radicals, by self-recombination of propargyl to form benzene, or in the form of other abundant radicals such as the hydroxyl radical. Experimentally determining the pathways …

Methodology For Enhanced Filtration And Dewatering Of Fine-Grain Amd Precipitate Using Geocomposites For Rare Earth Elements Recovery, Iuri Lira Santos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research performed by the West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) has identified that coal mining by-products contain significant amounts of Rare Earth Elements (REEs). REEs currently are in high demand, and extraction from coal mining reject presents a potential for commercialization if extraction is feasible. The coal mining reject include Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the aqueous phase and sludge from AMD treatment. A novel two split selective precipitation method was implemented to remove gangue metals, increasing the concentration of REEs in the sludge.

This process presents a two-fold benefit: 1) treatment …

Development Of A Thermal Desalination System Using Low Quality Thermal Energy, Takudzwa C. Chipunza

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Abstract

Development of a Thermal Desalination System Using Low Quality Thermal Energy

Takudzwa Chipunza

The blowdown water from the cooling tower of the power plant and the produced water from shale gas industry cannot be disposed directly to the environment as they may contain dissolved solids that are harmful to the environment. A detailed physical and chemical process to remove the mineral and organic solids has been developed in West Virginia University. Such a process includes running the blowdown and produced water through a softening tank, activated carbon tank, and a reverse osmosis (RO) system. The RO reject contains a …

In Darkness There Is Light: Designing For The Insect Play, Seret Teresa Cole

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This serves as documentation of my scenic design process for the School of Theatre & Dance at West Virginia University’s production of The Insect Play by Karel Čapek. This thesis includes a plot summary, text analysis, and historical context. It also contains conversations with the director and design team, as well as a description of my design process befitting the needs of the play. The design aspects will be presented through research photos, models, drafting plates, and execution photos. It will conclude with a self-reflection of the overall production process.

The Exposome, Metabolic Dysfunction And Silicosis: A Pulmonary And Pathophysiology Study, Janet A. Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The exposome encompasses the concept that an individual’s health is a combination of genetic, environmental, and occupational exposures. A worker’s exposomal profile could potentially influence their susceptibility to hazardous occupational exposures. Over 35% of adults in the United States have metabolic dysfunction (MetDys), yet interactions between MetDys and hazardous occupational exposures are generally unknown. MetDys is associated with HFWD-consumption and obesity and induces a chronic low grade systemic inflammation and alters serum adipokine profiles. Silicosis, a progressive inflammatory lung disease, results from occupational inhalation exposure to respirable crystalline silica particles. This research tests the hypothesis “Inflammation resulting from HFWD-induced …

Appalachian Broadcast News Coverage Of The Coronavirus: A Content Analysis Of Media Framing In The Midst Of A Health Crisis, Jensen M. Mills

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Media framing of broadcast news is more than identifying an issue, but rather interpreting and explaining the issue for others to better understand. Previous framing scholarship in broadcast news, as well as COVID-19 specifically, has focused mostly on national or international news, so this research explores broadcast coverage from a local perspective in a rural location. During the health crisis of COVID-19, the specific use of media frames can impact how people made sense of the pandemic. Through a content analysis of 165 newscast scripts from five different local news stations in Appalachia, this study contributes to the understanding of …